


Ho-Ho-Hong

by dumplin



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mall Santa Claus, hongjoong is smoll but strong, it didn't actually happen but still, mentions of cheating, they just like each other so so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumplin/pseuds/dumplin
Summary: Hongjoong had no idea how he'd been conned into doing this.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Kim Hongjoong
Comments: 8
Kudos: 78





	Ho-Ho-Hong

Hongjoong had no idea how he’d been conned into doing this. 

Actually, no, that’s not true. He knew  _ exactly _ how, and it had irritatingly good hair and knew that Hongjoong could never say no to an opportunity to make some more money on the weekends. Though, just this once, Hongjoong wished he hadn’t wanted money  _ so  _ badly. Bad enough he spent his time not in class making overpriced coffee and delivering mediocre meals, now he could add ‘drooled on and kicked by entitled kids’.

Okay, that’s also not entirely fair. The beard was scratchy and the noise pounded against his eardrums, ensuring a headache at the end of the day, but there were some moments that weren’t  _ that _ bad. Like the little girl that was currently beaming up at him from his knee, babbling on about wanting a puppy and wanting her mother to have the day off on Christmas. Her hair was bound into two, tiny pigtails bound with mismatched glittery ribbons and Hongjoong could see a tired woman clutching a worn handbag standing off to the side and his heart  _ ached _ . 

Another reason he agreed to do this. He was studying music production, but he’d always had a soft spot for kids and he’d often thought that if he couldn’t cut it in the music industry, he’d love to be a kindergarten teacher, or a stay-at-home dad. Smiling softly, he nodded along as the girl finished off her list and, quickly checking to see that no one was watching closely, he fished out a hard candy from his pocket and slipped it into the little girl’s hand, holding a finger to his lips as her eyes widened. 

“Because you’re such a good girl, and care so much about your parents. Don’t tell any of the other kids, now.” Hongjoong made big, warning eyes and the girl’s face turned very solemn as she nodded her agreement, before breaking out into giggles as she jumped off his lap, completely ignoring the helping hands of a Santa’s Little Helper, rushing face first into her mother’s lap.

“She’s cute, but there’s no way you’re not gonna have a horde of kids clamoring for sweets now,” the ‘elf’ next to Hongjoong grinned. 

‘Elf’, because whoever had decided that the giant named Yunho was fit for the role of one of Santa’s elves had had to be either drunk or high. Probably both. Hopefully both. Though, Hongjoong wouldn’t put it past Seokjin, his manager, to do it for a laugh. 

“No one  _ saw _ ,” Hongjoong grumbled, patting his beard back into place. The fake, snap-on piece was too big for him and kept shifting around until it looked like Hongjoong only had a beard on one half of his face. 

“You  _ hope _ ,” Yunho grinned, brightly, right in Hongjoong’s face and, not for the first time, Hongjoong cursed Seonghwa to the nth circle of hell for the absolute torture Hongjoon had had to go through for two weeks now. 

See, Hongjoong could deal with bratty kids and their snotty noses and sticky hands. He could deal with the noise and weird smells that were par for the course in a big mall. He could even deal with the occasional pushy or over-eager parent, foisting their child off on him like he was running a daycare and not just holding the little tots for about a minute before sending them on their way. What he absolutely and in no way could deal with, hadn’t been prepared for in the slightest, was Yunho.

Hongjoong knew he was a bit shorter than your average mall Santa, had even questioned Seonghwa  _ and _ Seokjin when both had insisted he was perfect for the position, but there were ill-fitting roles and then there was Hongjoong attempting to pretend that he held any sort of authority, (make-believe as it was) over a man that stood one full head above him. All the other elves were shorter or more or less Hongjoong’s height, but when Hongjoong had shown up that first day and found that the  _ head elf _ , snort, was actually a head taller than him… well.

“There really wasn’t  _ anyone _ else you could have asked to do this?” Hongjoong had grumbled after his first day, face down on Seonghwa’s sinfully comfortable couch. 

“Probably, but I knew you needed the money.” There was a pause and Hongjoong heard the microwave being opened before Seonghwa came to stand in the doorway. “What, exactly, is the problem anyway? I know the job’s not like, super great, but it pays above minimum wage and last I knew you were still saving up for a deposit on a new keyboard, you know, the one that can sound like an organ  _ and _ various types of farmyard animals..”

Hongjoong sighed. There was no reaction. He sighed again and pushed himself up and onto his back, watching through the kitchen partition as popcorn began to pop in the microwave. “It’s not, it’s not the  _ job _ , the job’s fine. A bit messy and irritating, but that’s like, fine.” Seonghwa hummed to show he was listening, intent as he was on the microwave. “I just, well. There’s this one ‘elf’, and I use that word in the loosest way possible, who looks like he could have applied for the role of the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk and gotten it with flying colours.”

“Ah. So this is about your height complex.”

“ _ I don’t have a height complex _ .”

“Whatever you say, hun.”

“You’re  _ 7cm’s _ taller than me!”

Seonghwa shot him finger guns just as the microwave announced with a cheery little tune that the popcorn was done. “And don’t you ever forget it.”

Whatever. Seonghwa was wrong, anyway. Hongjoong didn’t care so much about the height of Yunho, though it was a bit disconcerting, as he did about, like, everything else. The  _ real _ problem, the  _ actual _ thing that had made Hongjoong do a double take and clutch at the straps of his backpack more tightly, was how absolutely fucking  _ adorable _ Yunho was. 

Hongjoong liked to think that he wasn’t the type of guy to be easily impressed by the way someone looked. He’d met enough wanna-be idols that good looks glided off him like water off a duck. Pleasant enough to look at, but the content nearly never lives up to the package, so it just, ultimately, wasn’t worth it. 

Fucking, fucking  _ Yunho _ though. His smile looked like it could be grinning up at you from the glossy pages of a magazine, complete with soft, touchable looking cheeks and bright, shiny eyes.  _ And _ , he was an annoyingly nice and pleasant person and Hongjoong just liked him so much and, really, that was the whole problem right there, wasn’t it?

Hongjoong liked him so much, but for the last two weeks he’d had to watch Yunho be picked up by a fairy-faced boy who hugged and smiled at Yunho and generally Hongjoong was never one to be down on his own looks, but he felt like a right gremlin next to fairy boy. Not that he would want to break up an obviously happy relationship, but still. Made him feel small in more ways than one. 

But, but they were friends, sort of, had bonded over soda-stained costumes and crying kids looking for their parents, so when Hongjoon saw fairy-boy locking lips with someone that  _ definitely _ was  _ not _ Yunho, he had the sickening realisation that he was going to have to break Yunho’s heart. 

(And, no, he didn’t feel any sort of satisfaction from this. Hongjoong knew from experience how shitty it felt to have someone cheat on you, so there was no part of him that rejoiced in this inevitable relationship break-up.)

It was the week before Christmas proper, and the shops were  _ bustling _ and the kids were  _ everywhere _ and there was absolutely no time to talk to Yunho about this potentially life-shattering news. Hongjoong had thought he knew about rush-hour, thought he knew what it felt like to have people yelling at you and each other and the world itself because everything else was so loud so they just  _ had _ to. Had thought he knew what it felt like to be hanging on by the skin of his teeth, just barely staying ahead and not getting overwhelmed by demands being heaped on him.

(Okay, he does know, this just felt worse.)

Still, it was a lot and Hongjoong didn’t even have time to take his break, didn’t even have time for much beyond inhaling the sandwich Seokjin had mercifully managed to procure for all of them. So it was only at the end of the day, when the streams of kids had  _ finally _ begun to let up, that Hongjoong had a chance to talk with Yunho. Like, properly talk to him, not just exchange quips overhead as they waited for the next kid to be pushed to the front of the line. 

Shucking the big, itchy beard, Hongjoong saw fairy-faced boy walking up to their station and, suddenly determined to help Yunho, even if the boy might hate him for it later, Hongjoong grabbed his arm and turned him to face Hongjoong. The taller boy looked surprised, and Hongjoong just barely managed to hide a smug smile. This was no time for smiles, but Hongjoong couldn’t help but be proud of what six years of Taekwondo had done for his strength.

Yunho blinked rapidly, a faint flush creeping up his cheeks. “Uh, yes? Something you wanted to say?”

Hongjoong opened his mouth. Closed it. Looked over at fairy boy who was leaning against a pillar, an interested look on his face, and squared his shoulders. “Okay, look, I know this isn’t really my business, but even though I’ve only known you for a short while, I consider us friends and--”

“Me too!” A wide grin spread across Yunho’s face, and he looked so happy that Hongjoong felt an almost literal sinking feeling in his stomach as he considered the fact that he was about to slap that joy right off of Yunho’s face. “I mean,” Yunho hurried to say when Hongjoong didn’t immediately reply, “I consider us friends. Too. I think we’re friends.” His blinding grin was replaced by a smaller, shyer smile, and something in Hongjoong’s chest heated up. “I mean, I would like to be friends. I’m glad we’re friends.”

Before he could second-guess himself, Hongjoong leaned forward and placed a hand on Yunho’s arm, determined to say what he had to say quickly, before his increasing and ridiculous fondness for the boy in front of him sealed his mouth for good. “Yes, we’re friends and because of that I just need to say that--” Hongjoong faltered, seeing the hopeful eyes fixed on him and, and he just had to say it just had to-- “ _ IsawyourboyfriendcheatingonyouI’msosorry. _ ”

Hongjoong fixed his eyes on the floor, unwilling to look and see the devastation he just sowed in Yunho. It needed to be done, he  _ knew _ it needed to be done, but still, it’s not fun, and he hated it, and he wished he could take it back and--

“Uh, what boyfriend?”

Yunho’s voice was confused, and gentle, as was the hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder. Hongjoong looked up quickly, his thoughts tripping over one another to justify the things that he, that he  _ knew _ , right?

“But, but I saw  _ him _ ,” Hongjoong pointed an accusing finger at fairy boy, who had been watching them and looked taken aback to be pointed out, “ _ kissing _ someone!” Surely,  _ surely _ he couldn’t have been that mistaken, right? 

A line appeared in Yunho’s forehead as he frowned, though Hongjoong saw how he pressed his lips together, as if to suppress a smile, and he had a sinking, blazing hot embarrassed feeling that he had grabbed this stick at completely the wrong end and had just made a complete and utter fool out of himself. 

Yunho’s gaze followed his finger and he let out a little huff of breath, his thumb swiping almost absentmindedly at Hongjoong’s shoulder, where his hand still rested. “You… probably saw him, Yeosang, my  _ friend _ , kissing his boyfriend at the ice cream parlour. Wooyoung works there, that’s why Yeosang’s here every day to pick me up.”

Oh.  _ Oh _ .

That… that makes sense, actually. Fairy boy, or Yeosang, and Yunho never showed more affection than Seonghwa and Hongjoong showed each other, now that he thought of it. Actually, there was nothing that pointed to them being in a relationship beyond the fact that Hongjoong liked him and… was maybe a little jealous. Oh. 

“I…” Hongjoong looked away from Yunho, fixing his gaze on the tacky fake branches twisted above their heads, the Santa chair, the scuffed and stained carpet they were still standing on, anything not to look at Yunho, willing the flush already bright on his face to die down, please  _ god.  _ “I’m sorry, I just assumed… But, whatever, I shouldn’t have assumed that was stupid. Sorry I’ll just--”

“It’s fine.” There’s laughter in Yunho’s voice, but there’s something else too, something small and hopeful enough that Hongjoong managed to scrape together all the bravery he had, all the times he had handed in a project proposal that was a bit out there even for the music department, hands clenched into fists but fierce in his belief in his own work, and look Yunho in the eye again. “It’s fine,” he repeated, and Hongjoong had to bite his lip to stop himself from smiling stupidly in response as he saw the soft curve of Yunho’s face, his smile. “Thank you for trying to protect me, anyway.”

Hongjoong nodded, still embarrassed, but mollified for now and opened his mouth to respond when Yunho beat him to it, ears flaring up a bright red and his eyes so bright and hopeful Hongjoong’s hands started itching for his art supplies like they haven’t in months. 

“Also! Also, I just. I just wanted to say, that, that I don’t have a boyfriend, and I’m, I’m,” a big breath, “available. If you were… if you were interested.”

A choking sound came from behind Yunho, but Hongjoong didn’t dare look away from the flaming red face in front of him, incandescently beautiful in the way he put himself out there, and Hongjoong, secretly, in a place he mostly keeps hidden even from himself, thinks that he might, actually, more than like this boy. At least a little bit. 

“I’m interested.”

“Oh.” Yunho’s smile grew wider and happier and somehow smaller and more private all at once and Hongjoong had never seen anything that beautiful in his entire fucking life. “That’s good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

Hongjoong smiled at him and Yunho smiled back and Hongjoong don’t know how long they would have stood there staring and smiling at one another if Yeosang hadn’t burst out into applause, apparently having been privy to all of Yunho’s pining--

(“Shut up, I was  _ not _ pining.”

“Yes, you were, you literally started humming a song about his hands, don’t even.”

Yunho spluttered and blushed and Yeosang grinned like the devil Hongjoong thought he might actually be but he found he couldn’t find it in himself to care much one way or another, not with the way his cheeks hurt from smiling.)

\--and declaring that he had been about to intervene before Yunho all but confessed to Hongjoong. 

Hongjoong was glad he hadn’t. Hongjoong was almost glad he had thought Yeosang had cheated on Yunho. Seonghwa was going to have a field day teasing him about this, and Seokjin had raised eyebrows that promised words later when they walked out hand in hand, but right at that moment, Hongjoong couldn’t give a single solitary fuck. 

His head elf was holding his hand and smiling at him and Hongjoong could live with all of that, he really, really could.

**Author's Note:**

> They're so cute and they love each other so much and I just had to do SOMETHING anyway here
> 
> Twitter: [googlyeyes1507](https://twitter.com/googlyeyes1507)


End file.
